Color-transfer set for rotary printing-machines.



E. E. LA ROSE.

COLOR TRANSFER SET FOR ROTARY PRINTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 15. 1915.

1 ,203,01 7. Patented Oct. 31, 1916.

EUGENE E LH R055 Gamma EUGENE E. LA ROSE, OF SCHUYLERVILLE, NEW YORK.

COLOR-TRANSFER SET FOR ROTARY PRINTING-MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 31, 1916.

Application filed March 15, 1915. Serial No. 14,435.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EUGENE E. LA Rosn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Schuylerville, in the county of Saratoga and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Color- Transfer Sets for Rotary Printing-Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to improvements in constant feed color sets as applied to rotary printing machines to obtain a uniform d1stribution of color to the printing roll.

The primary object of my invention is to secure a more complete control of the distribution of color to theprinting roll of a color printing set.

A further object of my invention is to provide means for removing the surplus lnk or color left on a transfer roll after it has rotated or after it has fully delivered the ink or color to a printing roll.

A further object of my invention is to clean the transfer roll of color at each revolution so as to permit it to take up an on tirely fresh charge of color and thus secure free and uniform control of the: color delivered from the transfer roll.

Still another object ofmy invention 1s to provide means for removing the surplus color taken from the transfer roll and savingthe color so removed.

A further object of my invention is, generally, to provide means whereby the color delivered by the printing roll to the paper will be maintained at a constant strength at all times.

Otherobjects Will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a color feeding'set of a rotary printing machine; Flg. 2 is a sectional view on the line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a perspective detail view of the doctorshaft and the doctor; Fig. 4 s a perspective detail view of one of the ad ustable bearingsfor the doctor shaft.

Referring to these drawings, 2 designates, generally, a portion of the ordinary frame which supportsa color set, the printing roll,

and the cylinder. This frame may be constructed in any suitable manner and forms specifically no part of my invention. Supported upon the frame in any suitable manner is the usual cylinder 3, and also supported upon the frame is the controlling roll 4 which contacts with the color roll 5, which dips into the font or pan 6. The transfer or last delivery roll 7 is of any usual form or construction, this transfer roll be ing generally of print roll composition and receives its color from contact with the controlling roll 4. Mounted above the transfer roll 7 are the distributing rollers 8 which operate in contact with the transfer roll, these rollers 8 being given lateral motion in any usual or ordinary manner and acting to distribute the color on the surface of the transfer roll 7. Also supported upon the frame 2, and in contact with the surface of the cylinder 3, is the print roll 9, in contact with which the transfer roll 7 operates. This print roll 9 is shown as also an embossing roll, and the color is delivered from the transfer roll 7 to the high surfaces of the print roll 9. i

The several rollers forming the set are mounted in adjustable brackets to allow of the desired adjustments whereby suitable contact may be made between the different rollers; thus for instance, the frame 2 is provided with oppositely disposed out-- wardly projecting brackets 10, within which slides a frame 11, this frame having bearings for the roll 5 and bearings for the roll 7. Also mounted upon the sliding frame 11 is a sliding bracket 12, and mounted on this sliding bracket for vertical adjustment is a bearing member 13. This bearing member 13 is vertically adjusted by means of the hand wheel 14, and the bracket 12 is ad justed toward or from the roll 7 by means of thehand wheel 15. The frame 11 is ad justable along the arm or brackets 10 by means of a hand wheel 16. Thus the controlling roll 4 may be adjusted so as to increase or decrease the amount of pressure at the point of contact between the color roll 5 and the controlling roll 4. The controlling roll 4 may also be adjusted to increase or decrease the amount of pressure upon the roll 4 and transfer roll 7, and by shifting the frame 11 asa whole the pressure between the transfer roll '7zand the printing roll 9 may be adjusted.

Generally speaking, the color set above described is of'an old and well-known type, and in order to fully set forthmy improvement thereon I will first show the defect in the transferring of color by the above described combination rolls.

The color is controlled by the rolls 5 and 4 and is then transferred to roll 7 and from the roll 7 passes to the print roll 9. For illustrative purposes we will assume that the surface or area of the print roll'which receives color, that is, the surface or area which is raised so as to come in contact with the periphery of the roll 7, is 50% of the total area of the roll 9. The transfer roll 7 has the same diameter as the roll 9, and therefore the transfer roll in delivering color to the print roll 9 will deliver color only at the points of contact, and in the case assumed only 50% of the color on the roll 7 will be delivered to the roll 9. This leaves 50% of the color on the transfer roll 7-to be passed around into contact with the controlling roll 4. It is evident, therefore, that merely controlling the color which passes from the roll 5 to the roll 4 is not suflicient to completely control the color as there is a surplus of color on the roll 7 after delivering to the printing roll 9. This surplus color can be controlled to some extent by increasing pressure at the point of contact between the rolls 4 and 7 and by manipulating the adjustments to make a suitable balance between a color passing from the roll 5 to the roll 4 and surplus color contained on the roll 9.

With very thin colors control can b maintained fairly successfully, but with colors that are thick, or even mediumthick, this control cannot be maintained to any substantial extent, and in a very short running the color delivered by the print roll 9 I will be much stronger than when started.

In. continuous rotary printing this is a very unsatlsfactory condition as the prlnted matter becomes ununiform.

Myimprovement consists in providing in connection with the transfer or last delivery roll 7,-a doctor roll or wiper roll 17. This roll 17 is mounted in vertically adjustable bearing brackets 18 and operates in contact with the transfer roll 7. To each of the bearing brackets 18 is attached a downwardly and outwardly extending plate 19, and mounted upon each of these plates is a verticallyadjustable doctor shaft supporting bracket, designated 20. In these brackets is carried a doctor shaft 21 to which is attached the doctor shears 22 and the metal scraper or doctor 23 whose edge is yieldably, held in contact with the doctor roll 17. Power is transmitted in any suitable manner from the transfer roll 4 to this upon the shaft of the doctor roll 17 and which engages with a dog 25 mounted on the shaft 21. Therefore, as the doctor roll revolves, the doctor or scraper23operates back and forth. Two arms 26 *are attached to the doctor shaft 21 at each end of the doctor, and to these arms are attached suitable tension springs 27 which are connected at their opposite'ends to the frame of the machine. These springs maintain the required contact between "thedoctor 23*and the doctor roll.

The surplus color left on the transfer 1 roll 7, after delivery of color has been made to the print roll 9, is taken up bythe doctor roll 17 and the doctor 23 removes the color from the doctor roll, this surplus color dropping downward into the pan 28. By this means the transfer roll is entirely cleaned and therefore takes a fresh charge of color at each revolution, and thus complete and uniform control of the color'delivery can be obtained without any interference due to a surplus of color that has been left from a previous revolution of'the transfer roll. I

While I have illustrated a 'particulararrangement of color set, it is to be understood thatI do not wish to be limited to the construction illustrated, inasmuch as my improvement, that is, theprovision of a doctor roll and a doctor operating on the last delivery roll of any constant color transmission set, is equally eflective if the set is either fountain-fed or is provided with a ratchet intermittent feed as the color will transfer all in one direction andthere will be no surplus of color to be transferred back and thus interfere with the control of color at the controllingor fountain end of the color set.

Having thus described -my invention, what I claim is:

1. The combination with the lastdelivery roll of a constant color transmission set, a controlling roll applying color thereto, and a printing roll to which color is applied from the last delivery roll, of means for wiping the color from the last delivery roll after color has been appliedto the printing roll and before fresh color is applied bythe controlling roll.

2. The'combination with thelast delivery roll of a constant color'tramsm-issionset. of

a doctor roll bearing against and wiping the delivery r011, means for adjusting the In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my doctor r011 toward or from the delivery signature in the presence of two witnesses.

roll, a doctor bearing against the doctor roll and movable with the doctor r011 toward or EUGENE LA ROSE 5 from the delivery roll, and means for inde- Witnesses:

pendently adjusting the doctor with rela- JAMES H. TEMPLE,

tion to the doctor r011. ALBERT E. KELLY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner 01' Patentn, Washington, D. G. 

